How Well Are Texas Public Universities Serving Their Students?

March 27, 2024

Thomas K. Lindsay, Ph.D.

Tom K. Lindsay, Ph.D., is a distinguished senior fellow for Next Generation Texas at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He has more than two decades’ experience in education management and instruction, including service as a dean, provost, and college president.

Greyson Gee

@greysontgee

A proud Texan, Greyson Gee serves as a Policy Scholar at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Recently graduated with honors from Texas A&M, Greyson is passionate about promoting policies that enable all Texans and Americans to flourish and promote civil discourse.

Jorge Borrego

Jorge Borrego is a Post-Secondary Education Policy Analyst for the Next Generation Texas initiative at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Borrego was a Legislative Director at the Texas House of Representatives. He also worked in the Nonprofit Sector, working for the Down Syndrome Association of Brazos Valley. Where he worked as an Event Coordinator, Data Administrator, and Policy Administrator. He is currently serving as the Treasurer on the organization’s Board of Directors.

This paper represents the first installment of what will be an ongoing study of Texas public universities. This first phase, released in March 2024, is a review of three leading, existing ranking protocols, which measure free speech, academic quality, and Return on Investment by major and program. Our next installment will measure and report on how Texas public universities are responding to SB 17, the new law banning DEI training, programs, and staff at all Texas public universities.

Key Points:

On January 1st of this year, SB 17 took effect. It bans all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs and staff at all Texas public universities. Are universities complying with SB 17? To find out, this paper composes the first installment of an ongoing study of Texas public universities. The current study is a review of three leading, existing ranking protocols.
These three sets of rankings measure: (1) Free speech protections on campus, or the lack thereof; (2) Academic quality, as measured by core curriculum requirements, or the lack thereof; and (3) Texas colleges’ return on investment (ROI) which compares the financial costs and benefits (e.g., higher earnings) of acquiring a college education.
If you find any violations of SB 17 at your public university, you can report by visiting NODEITX.com or by calling 855-NO-DEI-TX.

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Thomas K. Lindsay, Ph.D.

Greyson Gee

Jorge Borrego

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